Young Adults

Banned in Saudi Arabia as religious censors there allege that it attempts to give a face to God (something Islam prohibits), the Kuwaiti based comic-book "The 99" is nevertheless growing in popularity in a large part of the Islamic world. Clerics from Kuwait to Malaysia have given "The 99" their blessing and in fact their financial support. Financing comes from the Islamic Unicorn Investment Bank in Bahrain and if you are curious as to what "Islamic banking" exactly is, here's a website with an explanation of their principles.

Earl Adams said his 14- and 16-year-old sons were "greatly disturbed" after finding the book, titled "The Whole Lesbian Sex Book." Adams said the book caused "many sleepless nights in our house."
The the city's attorney dismissed Adams' claim as baseless. She said the book is not pornographic.

"There is not a valid legal concern here," Camille Thompson said. "In fact, (the request for money) made me question his motivation."

Board games have evolved much since the days of Monopoly. Thanks to the Euro game boom of the 1990s, there is a rich variety of board games to explore. At Boardgame News, Giles Pritchard lists age-appropriate games for school children, as well as games that target math, literacy, and negotation skills. These could be interesting for both educators and librarians who plan after-school programs for youth.

Libraries at the Cutting Edge: The trendiest meeting place on many college campuses these days features a coffee bar, wireless Internet zones, free entertainment and special programs, modern lounge areas and meeting rooms.

And free access to books. Lots of books.

This educational social hub is the campus library, which is beginning to look more like an Internet cafe than the academic library you remember from your college days.

As it turns out, the answer seems to be yes. Melissa Jenvey, a young adult specialist at the Donnell Library in midtown Manhattan told me that after redoing the teen section four years ago, circulation of young adult titles rose 400 percent. "We just needed to have the merchandise that they wanted," she says. "It's like how they put the milk in the back of the supermarket to get you to buy all the other stuff." More from Boston Globe.

Update: 02/14 12:25 GMT by B:mdoniel says "So if you want to donate books to this program and don't have any funds to send them let me know. I'll pay for the first 5 boxes sent FedEx ground. I'll fax you a label to tape on the box."

Tuesday, February 6, 2007 The Blended Librarians Online Community is excited to get '07 off to a great start with their first webcast of the year. Join Steven Bell and John Shank, co-founders of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community, and their guests Robert H. McDonald and Chuck Thomas for a talk on "Discussing the Disconnects Between Library Culture and Millennial Generation Values" on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at 3:00 pm EST (New York time). Although this event is free, advance registration is required to reserve a virtual seat. If you are already a member of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community, here is a direct link to the registration page. You need to join the Blended Librarians Online Community in order to register

Here's a success story of how the Lester Public Library (Manitowoc, WI) greatly improved its service to local teens by listening to teens. The Library's Teen Advisory Board formed in 2001 with seven members. Now the TAB has 41 members, about half of whom are active. For those of you who have tried teen outreach, you'll appreciate how significant that is! More of the story at the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.

Joni Wilder, assistant director of the La Vista Public Library appealed to the La Vista Community Foundation for funds to middle-school aged boys into making regular forays to the library.

Wilder's plan is to visit La Vista elementary schools and promote a parent-son book club. She's currently compiling a list of paperbacks with guy-appeal for a discussion-activity hour once a week at the library. Story from La Vista Sun.

RMiller writes "The Greater Dayton IT Alliance and Dayton Metro Library are sponsoring an entrepreneurial contest in January for high school students, called The Miami Valley's Next Top Entrepreneur. The contest is featured on Business Bulletin blog.

The contest will ask students to write about a new product or service that they have envisioned, who the customers would be, and why this product or service would be successful. Lots of great prizes! You can find out more information about the national event.

I'll leave you with this thought from Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST and inventor of the Segway Human Transporter: "We need to show kids it's more fun to design and create a video game than it is to play one."